The present invention relates generally to associating images with geographic locations in a mapping application. More particularly, aspects of the invention relate to selecting one or more representative views in street level imagery for a point of interest in a mapping application and associating the representative view and the point of interest.
Street level images of geographic locations may be displayed through map services such as Google Maps. These images, identified in Google Maps as “Street Views”, typically comprise photographs of buildings, surrounding neighborhoods, and other features to allow a user to view a geographic location from a person's perspective as compared to a top-down map perspective.
Images showing a particular geographic location, such as a museum, a gourmet shop, or another type of point of interest (“POI”), in a representative way may be displayed to the users within a mapping application to enhance the user's experience. Business owners may use a map service to store views of their businesses and display the best views to the users. These views may be obtained by selecting photographs provided to the map services. They may also be obtained by taking a view from existing street level images.